Hi folks, I bought a used LS-13 last year with the intention of fixing her up. She wasn't in all that great shape, having sat out in the weather for a couple of years, however I am willing to take the time to do it right. The floor planks were rotted out and the plywood beneath the fiberglass (where the floor planks were attached) was so water logged that I cut out the bad wood and replaced it with new wood and I fiberglassed the new wood. I have also replaced the hardware on the drop down keel boards as much as I can. They were in pretty bad shape, but I managed to find some pictures of what they should look like and have manufactured new plastic pieces.
After doing the replacing of the keel board hardware, I am getting a pretty bad leak coming from the center of the hardware (both sides). I made sure that the edges of the aluminum plate were caulked so the leak is not coming from there.
Here's my question: Where should I begin trouble shooting the leak? I've tightened the screws pretty well (not so tight that the handles won't move) but that doesn't seem to be stopping the leak. Any suggestions?
Many thanks!
LS-13 rebuild
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mikepaddle
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:13 am
- Location: Dallas, TX.
LS-13?
Are you sure that you do not have a LS-16 instead of a 13? Their designs are almost identical except for the length. Aside from measuring, one big give away would be that the 16 has spreaders on the mast. I stand to be corrected but to the best of my recollecion, all of the 13's had the slat board flooring. The earlier 16's, my 1960 model included, had the solid plywood floors which later reverted to the slats.
Your bilge board leakage problem is due to a deteriorated gasket, pressure plate, and o-ring. If you have one of the schematic breakdown parts sheets that are readily available, you can see illustrations of each part. I was able to salvage enough of my old gasket pieces to create a template of each of the two pieces involved. I took a piece the original material to a plastics supply house and purchased a remnant to make my parts. I traced each part to the remnant sheet with a Sharpie. The gasket ring was done first. I drilled out the inside hole and then changed to a larger bit for the outer diameter. A set of regular hole saw bits worked just fine. Next, I used a jigsaw to cut out the pressure plate. Final finishing to smooth out the edges was done with my trusty Dremel. I went to a plumbing supply house and matched the large o-ring as close as possible. Long story shortened, everything works fine with no leaks.
If you are interested have photos of my fabricated parts and possibly a spare set. Contact me via PM and Iwill be glad to send the photos to you.
Best to you on your restoration.
Mike
Your bilge board leakage problem is due to a deteriorated gasket, pressure plate, and o-ring. If you have one of the schematic breakdown parts sheets that are readily available, you can see illustrations of each part. I was able to salvage enough of my old gasket pieces to create a template of each of the two pieces involved. I took a piece the original material to a plastics supply house and purchased a remnant to make my parts. I traced each part to the remnant sheet with a Sharpie. The gasket ring was done first. I drilled out the inside hole and then changed to a larger bit for the outer diameter. A set of regular hole saw bits worked just fine. Next, I used a jigsaw to cut out the pressure plate. Final finishing to smooth out the edges was done with my trusty Dremel. I went to a plumbing supply house and matched the large o-ring as close as possible. Long story shortened, everything works fine with no leaks.
If you are interested have photos of my fabricated parts and possibly a spare set. Contact me via PM and Iwill be glad to send the photos to you.
Best to you on your restoration.
Mike
-
mikepaddle
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:13 am
- Location: Dallas, TX.
LS-13?
Are you sure that you do not have a LS-16 instead of a 13? Their designs are almost identical except for the length. Aside from measuring, one big give away would be that the 16 has spreaders on the mast. I stand to be corrected but to the best of my recollecion, all of the 13's had the slat board flooring. The earlier 16's, my 1960 model included, had the solid plywood floors which later reverted to the slats.
Your bilge board leakage problem is due to a deteriorated gasket, pressure plate, and o-ring. If you have one of the schematic breakdown parts sheets that are readily available, you can see illustrations of each part. I was able to salvage enough of my old gasket pieces to create a template of each of the two pieces involved. I took a piece the original material to a plastics supply house and purchased a remnant to make my parts. I traced each part to the remnant sheet with a Sharpie. The gasket ring was done first. I drilled out the inside hole and then changed to a larger bit for the outer diameter. A set of regular hole saw bits worked just fine. Next, I used a jigsaw to cut out the pressure plate. Final finishing to smooth out the edges was done with my trusty Dremel. I went to a plumbing supply house and matched the large o-ring as close as possible. Long story shortened, everything works fine with no leaks.
If you are interested have photos of my fabricated parts and possibly a spare set. Contact me via PM and Iwill be glad to send the photos to you.
Best to you on your restoration.
Mike
Your bilge board leakage problem is due to a deteriorated gasket, pressure plate, and o-ring. If you have one of the schematic breakdown parts sheets that are readily available, you can see illustrations of each part. I was able to salvage enough of my old gasket pieces to create a template of each of the two pieces involved. I took a piece the original material to a plastics supply house and purchased a remnant to make my parts. I traced each part to the remnant sheet with a Sharpie. The gasket ring was done first. I drilled out the inside hole and then changed to a larger bit for the outer diameter. A set of regular hole saw bits worked just fine. Next, I used a jigsaw to cut out the pressure plate. Final finishing to smooth out the edges was done with my trusty Dremel. I went to a plumbing supply house and matched the large o-ring as close as possible. Long story shortened, everything works fine with no leaks.
If you are interested have photos of my fabricated parts and possibly a spare set. Contact me via PM and Iwill be glad to send the photos to you.
Best to you on your restoration.
Mike